Project Summary The objective of this RLI-S10 proposal is to acquire an electrophoresis imaging system, to enhance research and teaching capabilities at the Western Kentucky University (WKU). An imaging system is a basic requirement in the field of biological sciences which is commonly used for visualization, documentation and analysis of gel electrophoresis and western blotting techniques used for DNA and protein detections. In the Department of Biology at WKU, several investigators work on research projects that routinely need this instrument. Additionally, several molecular biology and biochemistry laboratory courses use gel imaging system throughout the semester for experimental analysis. These research and teaching laboratories provide hands-on learning opportunities which can substantially enhance research quality and learning experience of a large number of undergraduate students. The users on this application are actively engaged in research funded by internal and external funding agencies and have expertise with research capabilities to engage students in a wide variety of biomedical research using different model systems and experimental analyses. The users seek funds through this proposal to replace their 18-year-old imager, Fluorchem HD2 which has limited imaging capabilities and is becoming increasingly difficult to operate as it only runs on computers with Windows 7 that are becoming more and more scarce and are not updatable. Moreover, the manufacturer is no longer supporting this gel imager, thus making it difficult to change different parts of the old imager. The lack of a modern, high-resolution, functional imaging system effects the quality of data and reliability of analyses in education and research. The acquisition of a new ChemDoc MP imaging system from Bio-Rad with up-to-date digital imaging capability will equip researchers, educators, and students at WKU, the ability to obtain higher resolution images of DNA and protein gels with greater depth and accuracy. This imaging system will be housed in the Biotechnology Center at WKU and will be available as a shared resource that will provide several learning and training opportunities for the student community across different departments and majors at our primarily undergraduate institute. It will enable the diverse undergraduate population to use basic laboratory equipment and gain skills in producing high quality research data. The equipment will fulfill the imaging needs for four different research laboratories and five different teaching laboratories wherein undergraduate students will gain valuable firsthand learning experience through the use of the instrument at our institute.

Project Narrative This grant will fund the purchase of a ChemiDoc MP Imaging System, an essential equipment routinely used for imaging and quantifying nucleic acids and proteins in gels and western blots, which is necessary to complete various funded studies and fulfill degree requirements for biology majors. The requested instrument will fulfill the imaging needs of four research laboratories engaged in a wide area of research ranging from microbiology, cell proliferation and tumor metastasis. Furthermore, this imager will support learning objectives of five different biology courses and enrich the educational experience of undergraduate students from multiple departments with different majors.